Breathe In
by CadyD
Summary: Sequel to Deathly Inherit. After a long break from school, it's around that time again for Valerie and Seville Lovett, and adaptions to going back to a fairily normal lifestyle while living in the old pie shop on Fleet Street appears daunting. In the midst of all this, old Val can't help but feel the odd need to stay on her top guard to keep the newest Lovett, Madeline, safe.
1. Picture Bloody Perfect

___Well, here it is. ^^ _

___Long story short, if you haven't read Deathly Inherit already, go back and read that before even bothering to navigate into this story. Way too much confusion will ensue if you don't. XD_

___This MAY be edited... It depends on how much fits in the summary space. Lol._

* * *

_**Chapter 1**_

11:57

"Watch this."

"Why?"

"It'll be funny," I replied, in deep concentration.

11:58

Seville sat beside me on the sofa, eyeing me curiously.

I sat with my chin resting in my palm, being the all-knowing who knew exactly what was about to happen, and at the exact moment.

11:59

"Wait for it, Sev," I could tell he was getting ready to roll his eyes and get up from his seat, so I held his wrist down to the cushion.

Then...

12:00

The phone rang.

"Heh," I picked up the phone from the side table and put it to my ear, raising an eyebrow. "Derek?"

"Hey, Val," His heavy breathing sounded loud in my ear. "Sorry it's so late, and I know you're probably going to bed now, and I didn't know what time-"

"Oh, no, no, it's alright," I leaned back, smiling softly. "The party's just started. Wanna come?"

"What's going on over there?" Derek asked, and I could picture him leaning forward suspiciously.

"Oh, nothing much," Just as I said that, I hadn't realized Seville left my side in a flash as soon as I lifted up my hand. "They'll probably give me a - like - a-"

"Look, uh, Valerie?"

"Uh huh?"

"Happy birthday, alright?"

I sighed and layed my back against the armrest of the couch, my smiling not yet ceasing. "Thanks, Derek."

"I'd stay longer, but I have to go to bed."

"See you tomorrow?"

"After school. Yes."

Nodding silently, I hung up without a word.

"Hey, Valerie?" Seville called from the doorway. "Are you done talking to your boyfriend in there?"

I scowled, but I didn't look at him. I just then stared at the turned off TV in the corner, my eyes frozen in a roll. "He's not my boyfriend, Sev. I'd appreciate it if you'd quit..." My voice trailed off when I spotted Grandma sneaking around the sofa with a small plate in her hands. Regardless of what was on it, a lit candle was sticking up at the top.

"Oh," I sat up to cross my arms. "You shouldn't have."

_"Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday dear Val, Happy Birthday to you..." _

Mum and Seville sat down near me somewhere in the midst of the song, and Grandma placed the plate down on the side table with a smile on her face; She hadn't attended anything close to a birthday party in most likely a long while. Not even ours._  
_

"Thank you," I smirked. "Tis unexpected."

On the plate was a small pie with a candle sticking out of it.

How lovely, and how appetizing...

"What kind of pie is it?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Pumpkin pie, love. Your favorite, eh?" Grandma sat down beside me. "Now blow out the bloody candle b'fore the wax melts into the top."

I did as she said. No birthday wish involved. It wasn't that I didn't believe whatever I wished for wouldn't happen. There was just nothing in the spur of the moment that I felt I wanted, besides our safety. But our safety was something I could wish for everyday, and did.

Back in the doorway, I heard the rough, distinct clearing of a throat. When I turned, Mr. Todd's ill-lighted eyes met mine. He was standing there, leaning against the frame, unblinking and expressionless.

"Mr. T," Grandma stood up and hurried over to him, pulling him into the room by his wrist. He didn't bother to fight her. He allowed her to push him down into the recliner beside the fireplace. "Yeh came a moment too late, love. Could'a 'elped us sing for Val."

Sweeney's jaw tightened out of his own accord. It sincerely was not just a reflex this time. He bleakly peered down into the fire, not speaking for a couple heartbeats. When he did, his voice was particulary low and droning... More than usual, I mean. "I don't sing."

"Yeah," I chuckled. "You just whistle. Right?"

He glared at me pointedly, but for once, I had no clue why.

"Sure yeh do, love," Grandma interjected into her speech to glance back at me. "I'd eat that pie if I was you, dearie."

With a nod, I took the fork that Mum handed to me and dug in.

"Sure yeh sing," She was poking at the fireplace with a stick. "R'member those early days in the shop, when we used to-"

"I," Sweeney interrupted her, exasperated, and stiffly nodded his head. "I do, Elle," He loosened the cravat around his neck and sunk deeper into the chair with a heavy breath. "I do."

Grandma smiled down at him affectionately and set the shaft down near the bricks surrounding the flames. She passed him up on her way to sit down beside me, reaching for his wrist only briefly to give it a squeeze.

I savored my last bite of pie. Then I placed the plate back down on the table and brought my legs up to sit more comfortably.

"...I invited Derek over."

"Yeh didn't," Grandma's head swiveled around to face me immediately, a small glare on her face. "I 'ardly cleaned a single speck of this bloody parlor, an' you're tellin' me-"

"He couldn't come, though," I cut her off. "Said he had to go to bed."

"Well, there's school tomorrow," Mum stated. "You may not have it, but that doesn't mean the other kids don't."

"It definitely gets boring during the day, then," I crossed my arms and leaned back. "...Mum?"

"Yes?"

"Can I have a laptop?"

Mum sighed, but the answer I was expecting didn't come, unpredictably enough. "_Maybe_, Valerie."

I was about to ask her what exactly she meant by that, but a loud wail from inside the pie shop didn't give me the chance or time to.

"Mm," While Mum started and jumped up from the couch, I merely leaned my head over the back of it and mused without much emotion in my voice. "Maddie."

"I nearly forgot about her," Mum muttered, shaking her head. She rounded the sofa and headed back into the shop, and when she came back, there was a small, petite figure rapped up in a blanket in her arms. Mum sat down and smiled at Madeline, who was crying for, in my opinion, absolutely no reason whatsoever.

"What's her problem?" I asked, tilting my head.

The more I watched Mum with the baby, the more the idea of parenthood sounded less appealing to me.

"Just wants attention, I think," Mum murmured. Her voice then adopted a more humored tone. "She's a needy little thing."

"For now," Seville put forth.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "How would you know?"

He shrugged. "Mum told me _you _were pretty needy at first, wanting to be the center of attention. But then you drifted away..."

He smirked at me.

"Yeah. Okay," I couldn't prevent the laugh that escaped my mouth and interrupted my steady speech. "That's gold, Sev. Real dramatic. You should be a writer for soap opera screenplay."

"It's true," Mum told me, making me turn. "I said it just like that, actually."

I resisted the urge to let my hands rest at my hips now. "So when you say I 'drifted away', did you mean it as a good thing, or a bad thing?"

"Both, really," She looked back down at Maddie, who had hushed after a few minutes. "You work better alone. I won't deny that, Valerie."

"Work better alone at what? I don't have any professions."

"I mean, you navigate through life better without anyone watching you," Mum smiled softly at me, not nearly as intense as I would've thought she'd be. "I suppose that is a better way to put it, and for that, I'm proud."

The baby mellowed her out. I _knew _that was it.

"So what's the bad thing?" I asked, more curious now than suspicious.

"You're not going to be liked by everyone. That's a fair warning," Mum explained. "Your views clash too much with, perhaps, someone else's."

"Well that's obvious," I pulled up the sleeve of my blouse to show Mum the bruise that never really seemed to have left. "Remember this?"

Mum rolled her eyes. "Yes, Val. I do," Her eyes were glazed over for a moment. Then they regained intent focus. "Just be careful."

"I will," I didn't give what she said any thought. It was an unconscious reflex to agree with her, to avoid an argument. I _was _careful, anyway, after all. Especially two months prior.

But... the Geoffrey incident was far behind us. It was 2012 now. Just turned thirteen, too. Maybe now, people would treat me more like an adult.

I stood up from the sofa and lightly touched Mum's shoulder on the way out to go get a drink.

I was at the sink, rinsing out my glass, before realizing that I'd get a can from the fridge instead. I grabbed a diet rite and wiped the cold condensation from the top with my sleeve before cracking it open and taking a swig.

For a few moments, the silence of the dark shop soothed me. But hushed speaking back in the parlor made me freeze.

Of course. They waited for me to leave before they started a _real _conversation.

Oh, don't worry. Little Valerie isn't gone just yet...

Grandma's voice got nearer to the archway. "Jus' go bloody tell 'er, yeh sorry storm cloud."

Grandma sure got creative with the names she called Mr. Todd.

I heard an audible hiss from Sweeney. "Don't push me, woman." And he obviously meant that literally, because no sooner did he speak did he get rammed into the shop to stand awkwardly in place there, looking about the room as though he actually hadn't been living there for over a hundred years.

"Having trouble with Grandma?" I asked, taking another sip from the can.

Sweeney's head snapped toward me, but he didn't reply. At least, not to my question. He strode over to stand across from me, raising an eyebrow. "Are you satisfied with the... party arrangements?"

It touched me for the lone fact that he'd even bother to ask.

I grinned. "I wouldn't want them any other way. Thanks."

His lips twitched into a small smile. Then he turned on his heel and walked across the room to pull back the curtains and look outside at the damp, cold street that night was just beginning to fall upon. "I have something for you, Valerie."

He caught me in the middle of a swallow, and I nearly choked. Shuddering after managing to get the liquid down, I placed the can down on the counter. "What do you mean?"

"Not tonight," He talked over his shoulder. "Come up to my shop in the morning. I'd like to give you something."

"Oh," I shifted on the spot. "Okay."

I had no clue what it was. All I knew was that I could trust him. That was, and always would be, all that solely mattered under the roof of this household.

Seville bounded in moments after I spoke. "Hey, Val, are you going to be meeting Derek, Casey, and Kat tomorrow?"

I shifted my attention over to him. "Yeah."

"Olivia's grounded. She wants to hang tomorrow, though."

"While... she's grounded?" I tilted my head inquiringly.

"She has a birthday present for you, too," Sev added.

I leaned forward. "James is coming also?"

"Yeah. He wouldn't let me get off the phone until I said he could come."

"And where are we going?"

"Anywhere you want," Seville slumped against the counter, looking somewhat bored considering what he was talking about - and with such zeal in his voice. "Though... _I _was thinking we could go to Hyde Park, to..."

I knew he'd either say something stupid or completely uncalled for, so I held up a hand. "We'll stand out in front of the shop until we think of something to do, alright?"

Suddenly, I felt a hand grab my left shoulder, and by the face Seville pulled, I could tell he felt it too.

I hadn't realized Sweeney was standing right in between us, and without recalling hearing him walking over to us in the midst of our conversation. How does he sneak like that?

"Don't make too much noise out there," He gnarled.

"Are you asking this of us?" I questioned, smirking.

_"Val," _Seville gritted his teeth.

"Oh," Sweeney looked surprised, miffed, and humored all at once. It may have sounded impossible, but certainly not for him. "No, no. It's just a suggestion, lass. Just like me telling you not to go anywhere near my razors is _just _a suggestion."

I laughed, despite partially not knowing how to take that statement. His voice had obvious sarcasm in it, and yet, his hand tightened its clamp on my shoulder as though he had just scolded me.

Well, to face facts, Sweeney Todd is just an unpredictably brash person at heart. No one could stop him from being so.

While I was busy smiling good humoredly, Seville was busy cringing.

"M-Mr. Todd? That, uh... that hurts a bit."

Sweeney brought his hand away from him. "Sorry, lad." His other lingered on my shoulder for a few seconds longer until he walked back around the counter. "I will silence the noise. Remember that."

"Because mostly everyone we'll be meeting tomorrow knows who you really are?" I asked.

Sweeney flinched a little at what I just said. Slowly, he nodded. "Exactly."

"But they know you're not dangerous," I reasoned. "I mean, Kat _hugged_ you the last time she saw you. You may not have taken it well, but she did."

"I didn't take it well?" Seconds prior to that moment, he looked as though he was preparing to leave for the side door. But it seemed he got sucked back into the conversation fast.

"You _never_ look truly happy about any human contact," I pointed out. "And do I blame you? No."

"And why is that?"

"Who knows what disease someone might be carrying around?" I brushed off my shirt at the very thought. "People are gross. Simple as that."

"Hm," Seville rolled his eyes, looking far more comfortable now that Sweeney and I were going at it, and he got to sit back and watch in contented silence.

Sweeney chuckled. "I have no argument. If I did, it'd be invalid."

I smiled and crushed the can that I just finished. "Why don't you go upstairs, barber? I can only take you in small doses."

He exchanged a small look with Seville, then he tossed his head in my direction. "I wanted to congratulate you, also, Valerie."

"For what?"

"For making it to thirteen years of age. I thought the four of you would be dead by this time."

I placed my hands on my hips just as Grandma walked in, followed by Mum with Madeline in her arms. "Death jokes are suddenly funny now, huh?"

"_Please _no damned death jokes, Mr. T," Grandma was carrying the plate I left on the table in the parlor to the sink to rinse it as she spoke. "God knows 'ow Maddie'll turn out 'cause o' you."

"I think she'll be a fun chick," I defended my little sister, crossing my arms. "Not that I'm saying a kid needs to hang around a certain former Demon Barber to be cool, but..."

"For goodness sake, Mr. Todd," Grandma turned back around to face us, preferably to roll her eyes naggingly at the barber. "What kind o' rally are yeh startin' up 'ere?"

Sweeney ran a hand through his jet black hair, exhaling loudly. "I don't know. Not anymore." He unknowingly backed up into Mum as he said this, and he turned to briefly smile at her quietness, along with Maddie's. But he didn't linger on them; He just flipped around and headed for the doorway.

"Now, watch, love," Grandma leaned into me to murmur in my ear. "'E's gonna start muttering nonsense about 'aving no respect now."

"I will not," Sweeney was pushing against the door with both hands, glaring irritably at Grandma over his outstretched arm.

"Off with yeh, Stormy. Quit causin' us such misery," She pointed to the door.

Sweeney swiftly replaced his glare with a smug smirk. He willingly pulled open the side door and vanished into the night, having no final word on the matter.

I, as of then, had Grandma's legal permission from then on to address Sweeney as "Stormy".

Mum was watching after him as she bounced Maddie in her arms, shaking her head fondly. "He's something. Isn't he?"

"Somethin'. Yessir. 'E's somethin' alright. A bloody pain in the arse, but overall, great with kids." She nodded to me and Seville when she said that last part. "There's a plus." So's she didn't have to look at us anymore, she grabbed the rag off the fridge handle to wipe off the counter tactfully to her own intention.

As I peered down at her drooped head, I noticed the smirk she was trying to hide in the gloom of the shop.

Nope. There was no way in hell she could ever stay mad at Mr. Todd.

* * *

**_Now, I'm pretty satisfied with this first chapter._**

**_I don't know if the name Stormy was ever used for Sweeney as a humorous nickname in any fanfic before. But it definitely fits him, doesn't it?_**

**_You'll be introduced to some new characters in the next chapter. :) I still haven't gotten every picture up for my exsisting set of OC's._**

**_Remember that the vibe for the setting of this story is SUPPOSED to be a little different. Val and her family just settled into living at Fleet Street, after all. They also settled into the groove of the way Sweeney and Grandma Lovett open fire at one another from across the room, even when Madeline is there to witness it. XD_**

**_But I'm getting carried away here._**

**_Review? :) _**


	2. Friends of New and Old

_**Chapter 2**_

My eyes flickered open to meet the dawn. The parlor was dimly lit. That was certainly no surprise to me.

Remembering what I needed to do immediately, I got out from under the blanket and slid off the couch. Limply, I laid on the floor for a moment, still tired from the fun night beforehand. Then I got to my feet and steadily walked into the hallway, where my shoes were positioned beside the wall. I slipped them on, then I made for the shop, still blinking sleep out of my eyes.

No one was up yet.

Since we made living here offical, Seville and I continued to lie around in the parlor. Grandma was getting a guest room ready for us, really. Though I didn't mind just sleeping all around the house without a care. It made me realize how strict life unecessarily was, and how I was actually living by the strictness at one point without even noticing the wrongness of it.

It was still rather cold outside, and there were large, melting patches of snow and ice here and there. But I didn't bring a sweater; I'd only be out, up the stairs, and in again. And at this time of the year, it seemed Mr. Todd's shop was warmer. Or maybe that was because he chose to lighten up a bit.

Who knew?

I reached the top of the stairs and grabbed the door knob, letting the bell at the top delicately jingle to signal my presence to the barber.

Sweeney was standing by the window as always. What surprised me was the fact that he had a razor in hand, sharpening it; It was something I hadn't seen him do in a long while. And it made me remember a few things about him... Such as the day Geoffrey kidnapped Derek, and Mr. Todd's shirt... It was...

When a throat is... _slit_... with something sharp, does it really... _spray out_ like that?

The mental question gave me the urge to lightly touch my throat with my hand - something I promptly followed through with while swallowing. After I composed myself, drowsiness overtook me again.

"Hey," I yawned and staggered over to the chest to sit, my eyes half open. Even if the brisk winds of the outdoors woke me up, the comfortable warmth of the inside made me even more relaxed.

This relaxation didn't last for long. It was soon replaced with confusion for the silence that rudely met my words, mixed with the nearly absent sound of the loud scraping on the whetstone that he held.

Somewhere on the least important side of his mind, he knew I was there. But his main thoughts were elsewhere, like they always were.

"Mr. Todd?" I crossed my arms and leaned my back against the wall. "I'm here."

It took a while. I sighed, finally just resorting to getting up, trotting up next to him, and ramming my arm into his. He moved, surprisingly enough. Maybe he really _didn't_ know I was there...

He passed a glare down my way. I smiled sheepishly and leaned against the sloped window pane.

Sweeney glanced down at his razor, narrowing his eyes. He turned on the spot to pick up the wooden box from his desk and carry it over to the window sill, and in a flash, I was suddenly not there anymore. Not in his eyes, anyway.

Y'know, I'd maybe understand if I came up here upon my own accord and was ignored by him. But _he _invited me this time. What gave?

He was holding the most recently sharpened one into view, then seemed to be observing the others with a critiquing eye, when I decided to speak.

"So... what was it you wanted to give me?"

"Your father gave Seville the pocket knife, didn't he?" Sweeney asked suddenly, not turning.

Startled, I didn't answer for a moment. When I did, I myself could detect hesitance in my own voice. "Uh... Yeah. He did. Sev brought it here the first time we came - along with a few of our kitchen knives - with the intention of fending you off."

He snorted with amusement at that, and I joined him, knowing immediately that we were both thinking the exact same thing; If I knew then what I knew now, I'd've just told Seville that there was positively no point whatsoever.

"Why do you ask?" I questioned curiously, pushing up from the window.

Mr. Todd faced me, razor still in hand. What he did with it only confused me at first, though.

He held it out to me, sheathed in his palm.

I didn't speak. I just gave him an inquiring look until he was forced to give up this vague act and explain to me in words what he was trying to do and say.

This didn't take very long.

Rolling his eyes, Sweeney grabbed my wrist and placed the razor in my grasp, making sure to close my fingers around it himself so I wouldn't drop it. I honestly think he'd disintegrate on the spot... Okay, fine; He'd _at least _faint (Like Ichabod Crane! Heheh...) if he ever saw his razor fall into harm's way... Or just plain fall, for that matter.

"Do you... want me to hold it for a sec?" I asked, making sure I sounded just as bewildered as I felt to let him know. "You could've just said that."

"You need not give it back," He stated, letting go of me.

"I need not give it back... today?"

"You need not give it back _ever_," He snapped, making me jump.

Within seconds, he cooled down again.

"Valerie, I want you to keep it."

"You do?" I rose an eyebrow. "Why?"

"You are the only other I'd trust it with, besides your grandmother."

"But why?" I pressed. "Are you getting rid of your razors, or something?"

He looked horrified. "Are you joking?"

"Then why are you giving me this?" I demanded, starting to get just the slightest bit impatient.

"It's not that I don't want it. When I think about it... I don't need an extra," He looked down to the floor when he said this, eyeing something that I couldn't see. Then his eyes navigated back up towards me, dark but thoughtful. "It's a gift."

"_You_ are giving me... a gift?" I pried.

Sweeney looked a little annoyed with me, finally, as he turned his back on the window and picking up his razor box on the way to his desk. "Take it, before I change my bloody mind."

I glanced down at it. The chased handle gleamed in the becoming sunlight outside as I ran my thumb over it, feeling the prominent design carved in the silver. With caution, I unsheathed the razor from the covering to view the blade, this being the closest I ever was to it. It didn't quite affect me the same way it might've affected Mr. Todd, who still had his back turned to me at that moment. But nonetheless, I felt safe, like it swore it'd look after me, no matter what... Even if it was an inanimate object.

I smiled at my reflection for a few seconds, then lifted my gaze to see Sweeney standing behind the pushed in chair at his desk. Bracing myself, I took a few steps across the floorboards, my gentle smile not leaving.

"If you really want it back, I'll hand it over at any time," I promised.

"I will not be asking for it back," He replied evenly. "Nor do I want it back. I'd never have given it away had I still wanted it."

"I just know that every razor counts to you," I explained. "It's like a friend. It'll never leave you, or get bored of you. It can't."

Sweeney turned around on the spot to face me, his visage expressing a glumness that only nostalgia could bring on. He didn't say anything though, which made me feel a little guilty for some reason.

Making sure the razor was sheathed beforehand, I felt the need to give him a hug before things got too angsty, but he shrugged away and turned again to face the smaller mirror built into his desk. As I peered up at his reflection, his expression didn't seem to change, as though it were frozen that way.

"What?" I questioned, suddenly worried.

He didn't respond, though I could just barely see years of memories playing behind his gloomy eyes, keeping his will to speak too sidetracked to do so.

Releasing a sigh, I placed the razor down on the desk in front of Mr. Todd and came to stand next to him as I rapped both my arms around his right one and squeezed. He grunted in a vexed sort of way as he was brought back to consciousness by this action, then he took to shaking me off him.

I allowed him to do so, smiling again. "Thanks. Now I'll have a friend who won't leave no matter what, too."

"I don't like to think about what I created out of you," Sweeney muttered. But his voice strengthened as he continued. "Don't drop it. Try not to scratch the blade, or the handle, for that matter. If you need it polished, come up here. All I truly do is look at mine. I wouldn't encourage using it on anyone unless you know how..."

"In what way?" I stammered.

"You're no barber, and I don't suppose you'll care much for learning," He pointed out obliviously, not seeming to notice the fear in my voice when I heard him mentioning the phrase "using it on anyone".

"Oh," I felt relief wash over me. "Okay. Great. Don't worry; I'll try not to do anything stupid."

"I should think so," He retorted icily.

"_And _I won't," I added, as if he hadn't even spoken.

"Good."

"Oh, uh," I had been thinking about it during the course of this conversation, but came up with nothing. "Where do I keep it?"

"Close," He responded nearly immediately after I asked. "Perhaps when your room is ready, you can distance yourself from it for longer periods of time, and keep it somewhere where no one can steal it... They're worth a lot, I trust."

"You can't distance yourself from yours, then?" I checked snippily.

"I can't picture you with a holster on your belt," His eyes motioned to my waist, then back up to meet my gaze. "It would be best you don't bring it up again, lass."

I grinned good humoredly and backed up for the door. "I won't. I promise. Thank you."

Sweeney nodded his head to me. "You're welcome."

Smiling still, I opened the door and headed out, making sure to stuff the sheathed razor deep down into my pocket; It was the safest place I could currently keep it.

Then I headed back in to get dressed for the day, finding all three other residents of the lower part of the building awake and ready to tackle the coming hours on my way in.

As I changed into a different pair of pants, I made sure to switch the razor from the previous pair and, in Sweeney's words, keep it close to me. Until I had a safe place to keep it, this razor went where ever I did.

* * *

"Olivia!"

"Sev!"

A slender girl with short, dark brown hair and honey brown eyes came trotting up to Seville and I. When she was near enough, she came to stand a little shorter than Sev, but taller than me by a few inches. She rapped her arms around my brother, and he returned the gesture.

"Where's James?" Seville asked curiously, looking around as though he expected his other close friend to pop out of nowhere.

"He told me he'd make it in his own time," Olivia replied evenly. Then her eyes shifted to me. "Hey, Val."

"Hi," I greeted. "You should've told James he could join the waiting party today. We have no clue what we're going to be doing yet."

"He'll have an idea, of all people," She chuckled in reply.

James _was _pretty open minded...

"Here, chick," Olivia, after picking it out of her jean pocket, handed me a small box. "Didn't rap it, but it's the thought that counts, right?"

After briefly rolling my eyes, I took the top off the small box and looked inside to find what looked like a bottle cap... and nothing more. The sharp rims around the center were crimson colored, while the inside was a beige color that bordered on white with a swamp green swirly design on it. I looked up at Olivia for a moment, raising an eyebrow, until she motioned with her head for me to inspect it further. I finally picked it up, and as I did, a long, dark red string seemed to be attached to it.

"And this _is_?" I prompted her.

It was her turn to roll her eyes. "It's a bottle cap necklace. Painted the bottle cap myself."

"Oh!" I exclaimed. "In that case, cool. Help me get it on, would you?"

Olivia smiled and held out a hand for it before walking behind my back. "Sure."

Just as I was pulling my hair in front of me to let her find the back of my neck, I realized that Seville had wandered to go meet the other boy who had suddenly appeared on the street, his hands in his jean pockets.

It was James. James in all his recked clothing that made him look like a trashy homeless person... A trashy homeless person with piercings, anyway. He didn't act as one would think though. He was actually quite sweet.

CM Punk was his top role model. I cannot stress this enough. At all.

I personally think Seville acted more open when around this guy. This guy who brought out the daring in my brother all the time. Olivia contributed though, sometimes.

I wouldn't say Sev _wasn't_ daring. He just thought more about the consequences of his actions before doing much, and I think that was why he and I got along so well. That, and I also think neither Olivia nor James ever had a physco killer hot on their trail, like my family and I had two months ago. We could relate to the idea of not fooling around as much as other kids our age would.

Around now, Sweeney certainly wasn't alone when it came to getting aquainted with the real world. The one and only Todd could use some interaction with people of whom you'd need to leave the house to see, along with every Lovett on Fleet Street. The Barkers and the only Mooney on this street that I knew of were carrying the heavy burden of a supposedly safely kept secret. In a way, I felt that we were somehow banded together because of this.

I don't think I'd want it any other way.

After a while, Derek, Casey, and Kat showed up. The clash of different personalities among the seven of us was drastic, but miraculously, we all got along fine. Even as we debated on what to do for the day. And finally, we decided on going on a simple walk around Hyde Park and stopping if we felt the need to - perhaps eat at a diner.

I loved days like this. It was nice to act absolutely mature on your own with a group of friends.

As we walked away from the pie shop, I glanced over my shoulder.

Sweeney was watching us as we walked away, shaking his head at me. I knew what he was trying to say without needing him to speak.

_What did I say about the bloody noise?_

I smirked up at him, then turned around just in time to avoid tripping over the curb. Regardless, Derek grabbed my upper arm and hoisted me up anyway.

Today would be a nice break from everything. That much I promised myself.

* * *

_**I can't determine whether this is a space filler chapter or not, but... I don't **_**think _it is..._**

**_Hey, I'm planning on making a collage picture of all my OC's. Maybe put it up on my deviantart account, which is called CadyD16, just to let you know. :) If you will, tell me your opinion on this idea._**

**_AND, coincidentially enough for the date, happy birthday to Johnny Depp! Have a good one, you amazing dude~ :3_**

**_And yeah, review, of course._**


	3. What I Could've Sworn I Saw

_**Chapter 3**_

"I'm only paying for Val," James announced, shoving his arm playfully with Olivia's.

She shoved back, though she looked a little more irked.

I brought my tray of food over to the table encircled with many other tables and a patio fence, sitting down beside Derek. The breeze gently stirred my hair around me, and the bottle cap necklace that sat against my chest stayed as still as death.

Seville soon joined us, and after a heated debate with James, Olivia sat beside him, fuming. I was already eating my burger by the time James came to seat himself with us. I was just too hungry to wait out of courtesy.

"So, Sev," Olivia muttered in between bites. "You and Val... _live _in that old shop. Right?"

"We've been over this," Seville huffed. "Yes, we do."

I passed him a pointed glare across the table.

Kat was opening her mouth, about to say something. Already knowing what she'd say in advance, I snapped my head in her direction and vigorously shook my head when neither Olivia nor James were looking. She hunkered back, her head drooping.

I'd get her to tell me in private. That's all.

We all knew this secret. They didn't. Though... Seville _did _mention that eventually, he figured they'd find out somehow. About Sweeney Todd being real.  
It annoyed me. Sweeney was a living, breathing person. He wasn't a subject matter or exceptional secret of any kind. You meet him, and you don't feel particulary grand for having done so. Not until later, anyway...

He doesn't give you a chance to feel grand in his presence. He just gripes your ears off.

"I don't know," James narrowed his eyes as he pulled at both sides of the bag of chips he was attempting to open. "I've heard nonsense about the top floor being haunted by a madman. Is that true?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Er... In a way, yes."

"They made a movie about it too, didn't they?" He glanced at Olivia, who nodded.

"Well," I sighed. "The tenant that my grandmother is letting live up there now is experiencing... weird stuff. He got slashed on the hand once by something he couldn't see."

"Really?" Olivia's eyes stretched wide.

"Yeah," I dipped my head a little lower to smirk to myself. "He... swore a lot that day."

"Who? The ghost, or the tenant?" James asked, grunting as he finally managed to open the bag.

I felt my heart sinking; I didn't want to talk about this right then. "Mr. To-" I cut myself off. "Uh... The tenant. Heh. He has a bit of a temper."

Seville rose his eyebrow at me, as if to say "A bit?"

"Mostly it's just stupid rumors. The ghost leaves us in peace. He just... doesn't like visitors too much..."

"That must be really cool," Olivia remarked. "I wish my house was haunted." She rested her elbow up on the table and placed her chin in the palm of her hand, a dreamy look on her face.

I stared at her weirdly across the table, but didn't say anything else on the matter. If I did, we'd delve further into the conversation, and that was something I didn't want to do.

We ate, and then we left. Now we were walking to the side of the street, across from Hyde Park. The park looked so... peacefully normal. It irked me for some reason. But with these people that we only hung out with so long ago, whom now seemed new to me and Seville again, I wasn't surprised. That I could get so easily agitated, I mean.

"You're looking around like you're waiting for someone," Kat murmured beside me, grabbing my wrist.

"Who would I have to wait for?" I bit back, crossing my arms and ignoring the fact that her hand was still clutched tight to it.

"You're safe," she stated quietly, not looking quite as happy as usual. "You know that. Right?"

"Of course I'm safe," I retorted.

"Never know," Derek's hand on my shoulder made me jump.

"Never know what?"

"Who could be lurking around, waiting to snatch you up and kill you."

"Oh, you're funny," I smirked and looked away from him.

"Derek, would you quit it?" Kat glared at him. "You're not the one who had a personal hit on your head."

"Ugh. Sorry." He shook his head. "Everything I do, I swear..."

"Who has a hit on who's head?" James asked, looking over his shoulder at us from up ahead. He didn't stop walking, though.

"We did. Some guy-" Seville answered idly, looking particulary disinterested before I completely interrupted him.

"Seville!" I yelled, making a few random people nearby pass me an odd look on the street.

"Cool down," He eased, flipping around and strutting towards me. "I was _going _to say that he got arrested shortly before he could do anything. Remember, Val?"

"Oh," I grabbed a handful of my curly hair to play with, stifling the urge to bite my lower lip. "Right..."

"What happened?" Olivia asked, coming to stand beside Seville.

Some people had to walk around us on the sidewalk, passing us pointed glares. We hardly noticed.

"Augh. Our dad pissed some guy off on the road. Figured out he was a little more dangerous than we thought, but... they caught him," Seville answered dismissively.

"We never even got a look at him, they caught him so fast."

"He was after all of you?" James asked, a cloud of disbelief behind his eyes. He was leaned against the bricks that made up a small shop - a clothes store, by the looks of it - and raising an eyebrow at us.

"You could say that," I replied, swallowing before going on. "We never really go-"

A scream several feet in front of us on the walkway made my voice break off. A woman. Screaming.

The shop up ahead, beside the one James was leaning against, a woman busted out the door. Her eyes were wild as she ran to the nearest people - those people being us - and gripping the nearest pair of shoulders she could find - those shoulders being mine.

"Call 911!" She gasped.

Despite how startled I was, I maintained an attitude for the moment. "Can't call them yourself?"

"Hey," Seville pushed her away from me. "Personal space, much, lady?"

"_Someone _call 911," She snapped, turning around on the spot as people stared at her.

"Why?" I demanded, equally snappy.

Before she could reply, a gunshot from within the clothes shop made everyone on the street either jump, hunker down, or look in the sound's direction. I was one of the many who got as low as possible, and Seville's arms immediately found their way over me out of protectiveness when he did the same.

Then a familiar figure emerged from the doorway of the store. I wasn't paying much attention to what he was clad in. The only thing my eyes were focused on was the gun he lowered as his boots reached the street to prompty put it back in the holster of his belt, then turn around to face us.

_No._

Suddenly feeling very lightheaded, I slumped a little lower until I felt Seville's shielding grip on me slacken.

"Val? Val!"

Darkness overcame me, and in no time at all, I was swimming in it. It was all I could see.

Augh. Crap.

_Not again._

* * *

I pressed myself against the brick wall, all my muscles tensed and ready to run off if need be.

Even if I knew I couldn't be seen.

"Elle? What's going on? Who is that?"

A boy with blonde hair rushed up to my nineteen-year-old grandmother. He was wearing a white shirt and brown waistcoat, dark gray trousers, and very round-rimmed glasses that seemed to make him look way nerdier than I could imagine he really was before he spoke more than a sentence.

Or maybe he was just really, really nerdy.

"I don't _know _who 'e is!" snapped Grandma, seething at her friend. "Jus' get me back to... _our _bloody time!"

The boy looked hesitant.

"Cameron, I'm bein' serious."

From beside her, a very riled up Mr. Todd was stumbling around on the cobblestone, looking very unsure as to where he was.

"You're going to have to try again if you want to save him, Elle," Cameron murmured.

"No! No I won't!" Grandma insisted. She rushed over to Sweeney. "Come with us, sir?"

Sweeney managed a glare when he finally looked up from where he was placing his feet, a menacing look on his face that made Grandma take an uneasy step back. He opened his mouth as though he were about to say something, then closed it again. Instead of speaking, he strode past her as best he could... with blood trailing down from his throat, that was.

_Why_ did I keep seeing that?

Mental warning bells were ringing in my mind, telling me that it must've been an intense sign of some sort.

Whatever it meant, I didn't like it.

"_Look _at the state you're in!" Grandma yelled, grabbing hold of his wrist seconds after he passed her up, making him stop in his tracks. "We've got no time to waste! If I've got to lug you up those damn stairs one more bloody time, I swear I'll-"

"No, Elle," Cameron's hand made shaky contact with her shoulder, but it was too late; Mr. Todd already heard her.

"Wh-what?" Sweeney choked out, before shaking his head and staggering over to stand with his back pressed against the gloomy gray bricks of 186.

"Nothin'," Grandma replied jerkily.

"No," He grunted as he pushed up from leaning against the wall. When he put his hands on her, he meant for it to be an intimidating gesture, but all it really was was him using her to keep himself from falling. "_What _do you..." Grunt. "...mean?"

Grandma took advantage of how close he was by pinching the fabric of his bloodied, white shirt, obviously regretting it moments later when her nose wrinkled distastefully.

"Who's blood is this?"

"Elle," Cameron's eyes were round behind his glasses. "Let's move. You can answer questions later, damn it!"

Not wasting any more time than she already had, Grandma linked her arm with Sweeney's, not looking particulary surprised when he didn't budge from the spot he stood.

Tactfully, she brought her arm away, but was promptly pulled backwards by Cameron.

"Do we _really_ need to help this..." Cameron whispered, making a flailing hand gesture toward Sweeney when he paused. "..._character_?"

Grandma tilted her head, a sheepish smile playing on her mouth if I wasn't mistaken. "No... We don't... But it'd be the right thing to do, wouldn't it?"

Cameron snorted. "I don't know about you, Elle, but I think he wants to be left alone."

"To die?" Grandma pressed, sounding outraged and not trying this time around to muffle her loud tone. "Alone?" She didn't seem to care that this didn't make any sense. Not in response to his statement, anyway.

"Alright," Cameron held his hands up in surrender. "I know when you start talking incoherently, I'm finished. Still; This guy doesn't seem too keen on moving right now. What do we do?"

"Let me reason with 'im," Grandma pleaded.

Cameron looked as though he disaproved heavily. "Can't say you'll have enough time. S'pecially not if you stand around talking to me."

Appearing to be struggling with biting back a scathing reply, Grandma flipped around and rushed back over to Sweeney. The barber in question had resorted to going back and leaning against the wall again, a shaking hand resting over his collarbone.

"Shall we move?" Grandma whispered feebly. "Eh? C'mon. Wanna leave, don't yeh? We'll get yeh away from 'ere."

"No," Sweeney gritted his teeth and yanked his arm away from her when she attempted to grab him again. He craned his neck back toward the pie shop doorway, breathing heavy from what seemed to be a mixture of outright, physical pain and mental shock. "I-I killed her. I need to... Let me..." He started when Grandma successfully caught his wrist.

"Don't pull away. We're..." She glanced over her shoulder at Cameron, then made a motion with her hand that suggested she wanted him to come over by them.

With definite caution, Cameron edged over to stand beside his friend. "What is it?"

Grandma leaned into him to whisper something in his ear, one hand still clinging to the cuff of Mr. Todd's shirt. When she pulled back, Cameron looked horrified.

"Are you _mad_?" he screamed, jabbing her in the shoulder with a force that nearly knocked her backwards. "There's no way in _hell_... We... We can't!"

"We will," Grandma's voice expressed an unwavering firmness.

"Taking stuff back with us... We'd wreck the damned future!"

Grandma crossed her arms. "This man does _not_ fall into the category of 'stuff', Cam. That's like me callin' you..." She paused. "Eh. You're inanimate anyway. No matter."

"I ain't inanimate, woman."

"Yeh can't call me that, bloody bloke. Y'ain't even a man yet!"

"Can _either _of you explain to me what is going on?" Sweeney's voice was a whisper. A hiss, more like. There was no way he could get the words out any louder; His vocal cords were ruined.

"Nothin'," Grandma snapped for the second time, then grabbed his arm again. "Grab me, Cameron."

Cameron hesitated. Gradually, he shook his head fast to clear it of any doubts he might've had, then grabbed my grandmother's shoulder. "You or me, Elle?"

"I'll do it," she murmured.

She glanced down at the strange, metal contraption around her wrist. She adjusted it (at least, that's what it looked like from afar), and then, after a few seconds, all three of them vanished. Into thin air, seemingly.

I blinked a few times, still behind cover of the brick wall across the street that I stood beside.

_What just happened?_

Nothing there answered my question. Especially not when the faint sound of music and quiet talking entered my ears, and I blinked open my eyes to find I was staring straight up at the familiar ceiling of a car.

"_Aaand_, she's back with us!"

I jumped.

Kat sat on the floor beside the back seat I was sprawled upon. Her blue eyes didn't linger on me long; She glanced over her shoulder toward the front of the vehicle. "Mrs. Lovett? She's awake!"

Seville's head poked out into sight, staring at me and my emotionless visage. He shook his head at me. I didn't do anything to acknowledge it.

"Val? Are you alright back there?" I heard Mum's voice next, and a rush of relief went through me.

"I..." I was at a loss for words. Placing a single, pale hand against my forehead, I thought about what I could say in response. "Where... did you find me?"

"Oh, we didn't-"

"No, wait, no," I sat up, taking in a gulp of air. "Don't answer that. Um... What happened?"

"You should've seen old man Turpin!" Derek exclaimed from the front of the car, next to Mum. "He shot that robber clean through the jaw! I mean, it was horrible. But it was friggin' awesome! He saved that woman's baby and everyth-"

"Wait," I sat up fully now, swinging my legs over the side of the seat and allowing Kat space to sit next to me. "_What _happened?"

"The clothes store we were standing by," Kat began from next to me. "Remember? The gunshot?"

"I remember that part," I stated, just now taking note of the throbbing pain at the back of my head that made it hurt just the slightest to think back that far. "And then..."

"And _then _Teddy Turpin came out with a gun. Right after saving every single person in the shop," Seville finished my sentence, just then bringing the final point to my attention.

"T-Teddy... Turpin?" I murmured, my disbelief no doubt shining through. "That was...? I thought..."

"Teddy Turpin saved several people," Mum carried on. "Including you lot. If not for him, you guys might just have been dead."

"I'll admit though: What Turpin did... may have taken things a little too far," Derek quietly said, lifting a hand to touch his jaw.

Kat crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow. "The guy he took out tried to kill a _baby_, Derek. He was a raving lunatic. I don't think robbing the place was his main priority. If he got money out of it, it'd only be a bonus."

I was silent through this whole debate, still wondering why I had passed out. Evidently, I missed a whole lot.

Something oddly told me I _didn't_ pass out, though. I think I outright fainted in shock, truth be told.

When Teddy Turpin emerged from the store, I didn't believe to have seen the bookstore owner.

Who I thought I saw was his brother.

Y'know. The violent one.

Good God. Hallucinations now?

Give me a break, why don't you?

* * *

_**Ohh... This just took me so unecessarily long, didn't it? x.x**_

_**If this chapter seems weird, that's because I started the beginning a while ago. The stuff near the middle and on is a bit more recent. I didn't bother to check the old stuff before I posted it, so, that explains that. XD**_

_**A lot has happened since the last time I updated, really. xD I've been updating the How To Carry On story more than this one, because I'm just so presistent to finish it before this year ends... Y'know, if we're not all dead by the end of the year.**_

_**Recently, I have: Attended a block party, gained a total, spontaneous new obsession with Spider-Man (The older, Tobey Maguire ones. NOT**_**_ the new one. Dx The old ones are my childhood, even though I've never really showed unwavering interest in them until now. xD Yeah. As far as I can tell, there's no Mary Jane in the new one. That just... isn't right.), been busy with an RP group that I'm roleplaying with nearly every Saturday and Wednesday, celebrated my brithday (fourteen years of age FTW!), and, uh... other stuff that I don't feel very keen to note at the moment, considering it's 6AM and I haven't slept at all. Though I DID have some toast an hour or so ago with some lovely Nutella on it, but, uh... that's not important._**

**_Thank you to zipporah grace for the review to the last chapter! Your review is what partially inspired me to go on (as I was... rather stuck in another writing rut), so... thanks again. ^^ _**


	4. Breaking Bad News

_**Chapter 4**_

When we pulled back up to the shop, it felt like it had been hours of driving.

Really, it did.

Or maybe it was because as soon as our tense conversation was over, Kat got out her phone and randomly flipped on Nyan Cat, no doubt trying to make us laugh with the spontaneousness of it.

Derek had smirked over his shoulder at her. "Oh, joy. Kat and her Nyan Cat. She's so addicted, they should start calling it Nyan Katrina."

"Sounds like an alcoholic bevarage," I remarked into the palm of my hand as I leaned tiredly against the window. "If Casey and James were here, they'd totally call you lame, Derek."

"Just tryin'," I could see him smile at me through the opposite gap of the seat in front of myself that Seville was sitting in.

"Why had the two of them and Olivia stayed behind, by the way?" I asked curiously, risking the pain in my head to look up this time.

"Needed to get going," Seville replied. "James, as always, had somewhere to be. Olivia mentioned her parents calling and saying they'd maim her if she didn't get back there that very second. Casey... needed to go shopping for school supplies, I think?"

"Ugh," I put my head back down, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Friggin' school. A little early, isn't it?"

"We'll be starting soon," Mum informed us. "Though..." She faltered at the faces we pulled her way. "Not _terribly_ soon..."

I relaxed.

No one talked the whole way home. Just contemplating those day's events, I guess. Up until we parked out in front of the shop did Mum look to her left to tilt her head at Derek.

"Are you sure you don't want me to drive you?"

"No," Derek held out a hand. "That's alright. I'll be able to walk from here."

"Besides," Katrina went on, grinning. "Why would Val and Sev want to get out here if they could be back in here, hugging Derek all the way to his house?"

I chuckled, wobbly standing up from the backseat as we all got out. "You'll be walking home together. Why don't _you_ do that, Kat?"

She rolled her eyes and snorted as we were stepping out onto the cobblestone.

As I faced the shop door, the last thing I expected to see was someone's back. Edging over, my heart thumping, I reluctantly faked a cough to get this person's attention. A rush of bitterness seeped into my chest when the person turned, and I was met with Officer Rhenny's stare.

Sighing deeply, I grabbed the knob of the door and slid in between him and the door frame. "Hey."

"Hello." To my surprise, he sounded far more pleasant than the last time I spoke to him. "Is your grandmother home?"

"She should be," I replied, disgarding my rudeness as I stuck my head into the pie shop and looked around.

No one was in the room.

"I knocked a few times," he stated. "No one answered."

"Officer Rhenny?" Mum was walking over, Seville following. "What's this about?"

"Bye, Val!" Derek called, waving at me while Kat grinned widely from beside him.

I smirked, lifting my hand in a more effortless gesture of saying goodbye. Then I turned around, walking back into the shop. "Rhenny says he knocked, but Grandma didn't open the door."

Seville patted the officer on the shoulder as he passed him up in the doorway after me. "She _does_ have a thing about letting the police in. They already took her car; She's probably worried they'll take the shop, too."

Mum sighed frustratedly. "She's supposed to be watching Maddie." She looked at me, brisk. "Check upstairs."

After a mock salute in her direction, I bounded for the side door and headed up the stairs, no break in stride. No fear in stairs anymore, either.

I rounded the corner and looked through the glass, relieved when I saw Sweeney and Grandma talking by the sloped window. He was looking away from her every now and again, scratching the back of his neck in what appeared to be discomfort. She was staring at him, her hands on her hips and her face holding a look of... accusation?

Regardless, neither of them were watching Maddie, who was sitting in the barbering chair and looking around the shop with round, curious eyes.

Gritting my teeth - invisioning her touching the peddle on accident and getting flipped backwards with the chair - and knocking urgently to get their attention beforehand, I opened the door and ran over to make sure there was no danger of this little vision of mine coming true.

Sweeney turned around, his attention being grabbed way faster than Grandma's had been, who was still staring at him as though he had just slapped her.

"Did neither of you think what could've happened?" I murmured, breathless as I awkwardly picked up my little sister. I didn't linger with her for long, instead holding her out for Grandma to grab instead; I never did care to learn how to hold her, exactly.

Sweeney's right eye muscle twitched just the slightest, raising an eyebrow at Grandma who was now standing beside him. She glared back.

"I suppose... _we _hadn't."

"I suppose we hadn't, Val," Grandma echoed, dragging her eyes away from Sweeney as she headed for the door, summoning me with her free hand to follow her.

I lagged along behind her. "Eh... Officer Rhenny is at the door. You sure this isn't something Mr. Todd would like to hear, as well?"

"Why didn't you say so?" Sweeney reached my side freakishly fast. He was staring directly at Grandma when he said this, his eyes dark with poorly hidden dislike.

She never did turn around, nor say anything. The three of us simply headed back downstairs from there, and when we walked in, Mum had sat Rhenny down at the booth. Seville was sitting opposite him.

"Ah," Rhenny smiled at the barber. "Mr. Todd, is it? I've heard highly of you from Officer Barker, back at the station."

"Good," Sweeney glared at Grandma in passing. He took position behind the bread board on the counter, leaning forward against it with his hands. "I relish in being spoken highly of."

Grandma snorted as she bounced Madeline against her chest, looking anywhere but at him.

What was wrong with those two?

Rhenny seemed to notice their exchange as well; He narrowed his eyes, but in the end, deemed it as a silly banter that eventually turned sour. He looked at each of us with individual care. Then he shrugged. "How else may I put it? I don't suppose any of you will be dismayed to know that Geoffrey Turpin was killed last night."

After he said that name again, I hadn't really heard what he said afterwards. Leaning forward, I squinted, as though thinking that'd help. "Eh... What?"

"Geoffrey Turpin," Rhenny repeated. "He was killed last night. A quarrel with his cell mate. I can't say he hit it off well with anyone there in the first place."

"'E'd surely fit in with everyone an' anyone there, no doubt," Grandma muttered, not seeming at all fazed by this information.

The news, however, took me a little while longer to process.

A man tried to kill us... and was sent to jail for it... where he was promptly killed in turn...

Well, really, it wasn't all that prompt. He was sent there about three months prior. Not even a year had passed, but all the same, he was obviously alive there for a good while.

Mulling over it didn't stop the shivers that ran down my spine.

"You'd be surprised, Elle," Rhenny smiled somberly at her, and she snorted yet again.

"So, why did you come to us?" Mum stammered.

"Just to let you folks know you have nothing more to worry about," Rhenny replied boredly, stretching where he sat before standing back up and returning his hat to his head.

I looked down at the floor. Then a lone thought came to my mind, of a most expected lone man at the moment. "Does Teddy Turpin know?"

"Who's that?" Rhenny had been preparing to open the shop door to leave, but was stopped by my voice. He looked over his shoulder, confused.

"Teddy Turpin," I repeated. "He owns a bookstore down the street. He was Geoffrey's brother."

"Oh?" Rhenny's eyebrows raised inquiringly. "Did you want me to tell him?"

"No," I said immediately. "I will." I glanced at Sev, and he gave a single nod, solemn. "With Seville."

I looked at Mum, cringing as I expected her to disapprove. But all she did was numbly nod at me, agreeing with my decision.

There _were_ no dangers anymore.

"Okay," Rhenny slowly nodded himself. Then he opened the door, turning around as he backed outside. "May I... ask why?"

I sighed. "Because, a blunt fact is not what he'll see it as."

Officer Rhenny seemed to understand, if not a little irritated at the fact that I had addressed his way of explaining to Teddy the news as being 'blunt'. Nonetheless, he tipped his hat to us. "Good day." Then, nearly in a way that could be described as awkward, he closed the door behind him and walked back to his car that I had oddly not seen when we pulled up to the shop previously.

Tactfully, Seville cracked a smile to any who were looking. "Geez. Has he been taking social classes from Mr. Barker?"

I weakly smiled at his effort, unable to help agreeing anyway; I guess, months after his mother died, Rhenny got over his moodiness.

I wish I could've said the same for Sweeney, for the most part.

And _speaking_ of Sweeney, I turned around to face him finally, interested in how he had taken to the news.

He was staring blankly at the closed pie shop door, his eyes unmoving from the spot. Grandma glanced in his direction, her mouth agape for a few seconds. No words forming, she swiftly handed Madeline back to Mum - who snatched her up pretty quickly - before leaving the room with her head down, storming back into the parlor.

After a momentary pause, Sweeney blinked out of his trance and did the same, instead heading in the different direction and leaving through the side door.

_What_ was up with them? More importantly, what was wrong now?

I hadn't a clue.

* * *

When I got up the next morning, I crawled across the floor to wake Seville up. He mumbled something incoherent, but barely stirred.

"C'mon, Sev," I snapped quietly.

He continued muttering, but then his eyes opened a slight. "Is it really morning, Val?"

"Yes," I rolled my eyes. "What kind of question is that, anyway?"

"A darn good one." Gradually, he sat up. "You've been tossing and turning all night. Hardly got any sleep, I can imagine."

"Yeah, well," I stood up from his couch side, stifling a yawn. "We've got work to do. Don't we?"

"What work is involved?" he inquired. "We're just going to break the news to Turpin. It'll be quick."

"You know there's more to all this than that," I murmured, remembering then that we needed to be quiet if we wanted Grandma and Mum to get the sleep they deserved. "Teddy won't take it as easily as we are. Especially not after he lost his other brother a few years back; Arnold Turpin."

"Look, Val," Seville trudged across the room as he spoke, grabbing random clothes from the floor to put on. I did the same. "Ted _admitted_ that Geoffrey is no brother to him any longer. It isn't like it'll be a total loss for him."

"Doesn't mean he won't feel the slightest bit sad," I stated, beating my brother to going into the bathroom to change into my clothes for the day. When I came back out, I was running a brush through my hair and shifting through the blankets I was sleeping in to find the razor Sweeney had given me, while Seville went into the bathroom himself. I located the razor and stuffed it into my pocket, releasing a sigh as I waited for my brother to be finished.

If any normal teenager knew I slept with a razor, that'd be one less teenager I'd ever have the potential to become friends with.

When Seville came out of the bathroom, he actually looked a little more kempt than I did; I looked in the mirror, as always, before I left the bathroom.

He wore a black t-shirt and dark, baggy pants that went over his equally dark shoes. His hair looked... as though he hadn't cut it in a while, honestly. It looked good though, nonetheless.

"Do I look sexy?" he inquired, staring at me staring at him.

"Oh," I began for the doorway. "Yeah. I'd say so. You've certainly aged."

"Thanks. So have you."

Without hesitance, we headed out after Sev grabbed his phone off the booth table. Then we were walking down Fleet Street again, like we had months before, looking for the same shop with the same man inside. We didn't need Derek's directory for once, either; I think we were starting to get used to this lovely, colorless place.

It wasn't long before the two shops came into sight: Teddy Turpin's bookstore, and Arnold Turpin's... whatever his shop was. It only mildly took Sev and I by shock when we found more welcoming candlelight in the barely covered windows of Arnold's old building. I took a glance at Seville, giving him a suspicious look that was really meant for the building. He didn't look back, however; Just kept staring straight ahead.

It was a pretty cool place, really; Maybe that was why we both started walking to it without saying a word.

The sign in the window said 'Closed' but the lights were on... How strange.

The door opened without struggle. As we looked about the cluttered room, filled with bookshelves, candles, dimness, and dank wood under our feet with maroon rugs, we heard muttering somewhere near the back. The coherent muttering of a person, specifically.

Swallowing uncomfortably, I started following Seville; His brotherly instincts to take the lead obviously kicking in right before my eyes, despite the fact that I was in no mood to take a step back and observe the oddness of it.

The candlelight danced along the visible walls as we walked along the side of a particular bookcase. When Seville turned into another colemn, he began heading forth, but I lingered behind a few paces to stare at something up ahead that I hadn't noticed before, the last time we were there: By the opposite wall, there was a creaky, old-looking spiral staircase.

I didn't know this building had a second floor.

"Mr. Turpin?"

Seville's voice startled me out of my thoughts. I rushed forward and turned into the same back room, where I found my brother standing in the doorway, and where an old man with familiar graying hair was sitting at the sloped desk against the wall.

Teddy Turpin turned around to face us, looking alarmed. "What are you... _kids _doing here?"

I snorted, shoving past Sev. "We aren't kids, _Mister_. Remember when I said I'd be turning thirteen in Febuary? Yeah; That was yesterday."

He didn't look all that convinced that I was any superior for having just had a birthday, however. Still equally bitter with us. "This building is off limits. Didn't you see the closed sign? Get out." He grabbed my arms and steered me for the doorway, and I bumped into Seville in the process.

"We have something to tell you," I snapped. "Did you think we'd just be coming here for nothing?"

At that, he seemed to be considering whether to let us stay or not. Then he let go of me, a glare on his face. "Go on, girl."

"Ted," I sighed, flipping around again on the spot. "Why aren't you in your shop nextdoor?"

"None of your concern," he retorted dryly, shuffling past us to head back out into the main room.

"Oh, uh, okay," I gestured to Sev, then began following the bookstore owner, nearly tripping over a downed book in an aisle as I came to speak. "Look, er, Mr. Turpin,"

I started in faint shock when I found Teddy was heading for the ominous staircase. I noted the darkness above us and the dim sight of a mixture of both more candlelight and daylight from an apparent window. "You know... Geoffrey?"

"Unfortunately so," he responded matter-of-factly, grabbing hold of the fancy railing and lurching himself upward.

After giving Seville a brief, uneasy look, to which he returned, we began following the old man on the stairs, not used to staircases that seemed to hold so much history in their wood.

Soon, we ascended into a lighter area. The attic area, so it would seem. But it offered more light than downstairs had.

"What about my brother?" Ted demanded gruffly, when he noticed I was spending more time looking around than responding.

I wrenched my gaze away from the large window to the front wall, about the same size as Sweeney's, if not a little smaller and not sloped. It let in nearly pleasant dawn light.

"We told you a few months ago that Geoffrey was sent to prison, right?" I asked, trotting in when Ted started looking through another bookcase against the wall; There were fewer ones in here, for sure. There were more seating options though; A reading lounge, much like. Seville took to collapsing in one beside the landing as Turpin and I talked.

"I may be old," Ted murmured, looking over his shoulder at me. "But I haven't forgotten yet."

"Alright, good," I tried to keep my tone nonchalant as I walked over, my arms crossed at the chilly draft that a most expected crack in the wall was causing. "Um... Well, Officer Rhenny - the guy you weren't familiar with - came to the pie shop yesterday. Told us that Geoffrey was... uh... killed."

I was right beside Turpin now, and I could see his head snapping forward as he took this information in.

"I'm sorry," I murmured, looking down at the floor. "He's dead."

Teddy turned around to look down at me. Then he cleared his throat and tugged on the cravat around his neck as he sauntered over to the window to stare outside, blank.

I leaned against the bookcase, patiently waiting for him to say something.

His input came sooner than I anticipated. "I expected as much, one day."

"Did you?" I raised my eyebrows, trying to sound like once he spoke, the subject's mood could be switched.

No such luck.

"Let me finish," he seethed, still not turning around to face us.

I scuffed my shoe across the rug as I waited, a little less patient now.

"The day he died would be a mercy to mankind," Ted went on. "And, now he is dead. Justice has been served."

"You don't sound very happy about that," Seville stated plainly, still sitting on the reclining chair with his hands hanging over the armrests.

"I should, shouldn't I?" Teddy shrugged. After this, he lamely broke off, having nothing left to say.

Pity welled in my chest. Whatever which way things ended up, someone always got hurt in the end.

It simply wasn't fair.

"My brother, Arnold, was a detective," Ted explained. "It killed him on the inside to suspect Geoffrey of any crimes comitted. All evidence pointed to him, though."

I nodded, glum.

"Then Geoffrey nearly got arrested, while out. He knew Arnold was to blame." He tensed up as he went on. "He rigged the carriage Arnold was expected to catch the next day; He... had no remorse."

A frown twisting my lips, I walked over and grabbed his arm with my left hand, giving it a squeeze. I closed my eyes against the light as he continued with his speech.

"Your family came to the funeral, you know," he added, and I was surprised to find he hadn't moved away from my presence yet. "I believe your brother might've been too young to remember. And you, Valerie. You weren't even born yet."

I smiled somberly. "I expected as much."

"And we all got along fine, despite what the city thought of our origins." He shook his head grimly.

"Geoffrey had no interest in get-togethers, did he?" I guessed.

"No," Ted eyed the street below, looking nearly too absent to really be hearing me. "He scoffed at the idea. Of course, Arnold and I invited him one day, us being us. The few times that he made speaking contact with you lot, he and Mr. Todd didn't get along very well in the least."

"Most expected." As soon as I noticed the sturdiness of the vast window sill, I moved away from Turpin after patting his arm encouragingly and sat down to actually face him, eyeing his sad expression.

"An event back in old times shouldn't disrupt our lives, now," Teddy said, grimacing at the real notion that affected us all so badly. "It's ridiculous, really."

"You and Mr. Todd would have something to agree on, then." I smiled at him.

"I'd say so."

Leaning against the glass, I watched as he strutted back over to the bookcase, still managing to give off that disdainful vibe despite how broken up he was.

I smirked. "You don't need comforting, do you?"

"I will be well," he responded, taking me by shock that he had no retort to that; He might've actually thought I was being serious.

"Well," I stood up from the window sill and walked back over to Seville, shrugging at him as I went. "I guess we'll leave you... to your thoughts."

"Thank you," Turpin looked back at me, and I could see a hint of genuine gratitude in his eyes for a flash of a moment.

I nodded. "Once again, I'm... really sorry."

"Don't be. It was bound to happen." He glanced back outside, his voice bitter with years of horror and stress now finally put to rest.

Or so we thought...

* * *

_**Yep. There we have it.**_

_**I know I'm not the most easily tolerated authoress to deal with. xD So, if you clicked on the update, then thank you. c:**_

_**Thank you all who reviewed previously. I love to hear your thoughts. ^^**_

_**Now... Off to go work on HTCO, because I personally think it needs my attention. Direly.**_


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